Head Coach Bruce Arians

(Opening statement)

"Not practicing [today were] Devin White, Jamel Dean, Blaine Gabbert and Devante Bond. [It was] another good, hot day. We had a couple guys have a little heat [exhaustion], so we'll get them ready for tomorrow. It was a good, solid practice."

(On if players were struggling with the heat)

"I think Beau Allen went down with a cramp right near the end there."

(On if the team will practice in the indoor facility during the rest of the week)

"We'll go indoor tomorrow and Saturday, and maybe Friday depending on the heat. We want to get two good, hard days outside and then judge it from there."

(On if there is any change to ILB Devin White's injury status)

"No, it's still day-to-day."

(On if it was encouraging to have CB Jamel Dean on the sideline during practice)

"Yeah, he's running and we'll see how it goes."

(On how important it has been to build depth in the secondary)

"It's huge when you play the way we play. [If] we're going to play man-to-man, we're going to need enough guys that can play man-to-man and mix in the zone coverages. But yeah, that depth really helps – and on special teams too."

(On how the defense will keep Giants RB Saquon Barkley contained)

"Gap integrity is huge. We can't have guys trying to do too much because he'll find that spot, and we have to do a great job of tackling. That was what I thought the best thing we did the other night against [Christian] McCaffrey, was we got a lot of hats to the ball. Vernon [Hargreaves III] made the great play at the end, but during the game we had a lot of hats running to the ball. That, and then take care of those short passes where they get him out in space – I think he's more dangerous there than anywhere."

(On how important it is to defend tight ends)

"It's big because when you're trying to stop the run, the tight end is the guy that's available sometimes down the middle. We busted a coverage on the one long one – Kevin [Minter] passed it off and should've stayed with him, but that's one of the focal points. Anybody we put a jersey on in practice is a focal point."

(On what he's seen from S Jordan Whitehead)

"Jordan's productivity is really good right now. He can play better, but his productivity is off the charts."

(On what it is about Whitehead that is allowing him to have success in this defense)

"He's a high-motor guy, he's a good tackler and he's a good blitzer, so those things bode well for the position he plays."

(On what he's seen out of Whitehead in coverage)

"He's doing a lot better job. He gave one up to [Greg] Olsen, but it was just a matter of getting inside and playing inside-out. [Evan] Engram is a different cat – he's inside, he's outside, he's everywhere."

(On if the coaching staff is everything he thought it would be through two games)

"Probably even more. I knew that we had a group of guys that are great teachers and I think defensively, we probably are playing to my expectations – maybe a little bit above. Offensively, I think we're still scratching a little bit to find some things, although I was really pleased [with] the way we played Thursday night. Just make two more catches [and] it would've been a great night."

(On if it helps that the Giants' defensive schemes are similar to Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles')

"[They are] very, very similar – same verbiage. Todd does a little bit more things. Betch (James Bettcher) has created some things of his own, but going against him all those years, yeah, they're very similar."

(On ILB Kevin Minter stepping in for ILB Devin White)

"[Kevin] and Deone Bucannon – they're here for reasons. When Lavonte [David] was down, Deone stepped in. He's a pro. You can count on him – he's a great special teams player, but he's a heck of a linebacker too."

(On how much of a coach's job it is to not let players get too high or too low)

"That's the whole thing, is learning how to win close games. You harp on it – we lost the fourth quarter against San Francisco and we won the fourth quarter against Carolina. You've just got to keep it close and make the plays to win the game at the end. Now that we've done one, it should become easier."

(On if there is a certain attitude he wants the team to have in the fourth quarter)

"Yeah – winning. Straight up winning. Whatever it takes to win."

(On the team in recent years losing close games)

"I don't go back there. We just go forward – we don't look backwards."

(On OLB Shaquil Barrett being the only player to record a sack so far this season)

"Hopefully, they'll start sliding to him. Carl [Nassib] has had a couple but he's let them go. Yeah, we'd like to get some more going and I think Carl's been really close. I think [Ndamukong] Suh got close a couple of times, so yeah – just finish the deal."

(On how much room OLB Anthony Nelson has to grow)

"He's just starting. What he showed in OTAs with his length and his athletic ability – I started making him a tight end, but we've already got tight ends. He's that type of athlete. He's learning this game as he's playing it, and he's doing a pretty good job."

(On if the Giants' switch at quarterback changes the defensive plan)

"No, we'll just get ready for their offense. It changes our pass rush thinking, because this guy's real mobile and he's a heck of a runner – he's a hell of an athlete. There might be a read option or two, although I doubt Pat [Shurmur] puts him in danger of getting hurt running the ball much. I think those are always threatening things that could happen in a ball game that you have to prepare for mentally."

(On if he can sense a change in the locker room after the Week 2 win)

"Yeah, obviously. When you win a game like that, practice is fun. Yesterday might've been the best practice we've had since I've been here, and today was not far from it other than the heat got us the last 30 minutes – and it'll make a coward out of all of us. [We had] two good practices back to back. That was the whole point coming into this week – we can't relax now just because we won a ball game. It's just one game. It's over with – take care of today's business."

(On signing WR Amara Darboh to the practice squad)

"Yeah, he's not in Florida shape. The heat killed him, but he's big and fast. He's been impressive so far in the scout team, running routes for show teams."

(On DL Vita Vea getting OLB Shaquil Barrett one-on-one opportunities)

"That's the thing – Vita, he's the other guy that's getting a lot of push. We're getting inside push from [Ndamukong] Suh and Vita, so those outside guys are getting closer and closer. He's playing extremely well. The best thing about him – he stayed in good shape. He was in great shape when he showed up. The injury set him back mentally a little bit, but not physically – he stayed in good shape."

(On where OLB Jason Pierre-Paul's rehab is taking place)

"It's a little bit of everywhere and I kind of like it like that. When it's time, I don't have any worries about him champing at the bit, being ready to go."

(On what encourages him that the team is going in the direction he wants it to)

"I think we're committing fewer and fewer penalties and our mental errors – we're not beating ourselves. That was the problem in the first [game], and I've seen us practice so much better and win a ball game without beating ourselves when we could have. We could've lost that game easily saying how close we got, and close isn't good enough. I think our guys our realizing close isn't good enough and losing is not acceptable."

(On how to channel CB Carlton Davis III's physicality to avoid penalties)

"I thought it was offensive pass interference. He got hit, but he did grab his facemask, and I did not agree with the call. I like physical corners."

Quarterback Jameis Winston

(On his assessment of TE O.J. Howard's performance against Carolina)

"I think O.J. is an incredibly talented player. And, let's take my game for example. It wasn't 350 yards and five touchdowns – it was a game-managed game. People in those trenches, they are working every single down. The offensive line doesn't get a lot of credit, but our running backs have been rushing for over 100 yards every game. You will see him having some breakout moments, but right now he is just in the trenches doing his job."

(On the difference in his footwork from Week 1 to Week 2)

"I would say I am consistently working on my footwork every week, trying to hone things down. I was just trying to get the ball out quick. They have a great [pass] rush and we were just trying to be decisive with the football and take what they gave us."

(On picking up a road victory)

"It's always fun to win – always."

(On how much pre-snap decisions are generated during the week in practice)

"Preparation is a huge part of how the flow of a game goes. Any time you can make an accurate pre-snap decision, it helps with you being more decisive on the play. But if you are trying to make a decision with the ball in your hands, sometimes you are a little too late."

(On having extra time to prepare for their Week 3 game against the Giants)

"[It is] always good when you are coming off of a win to come in this building. It got the juices flowing, but we've got to continue to get better. We've got to know that we've got a good Giants team coming in. It's going to be great for our fans to get a home win. We know what happened last game, so we are really pumped up to get into [Raymond James Stadium] and get a win."

(On if the win over Carolina was an example of how not to beat yourself that the team can build off of)

"We've just got to implement that every week. It's a week-to-week league, so every game we've got to know going into the game we can't beat ourselves. If the team is good and they out play us, we can live with that. But we can't live with beating ourselves. Every week that is our focus – we've got to go out and be clean and give it our best shot. With the team we have and the talent we have, if we give it our best shot, we are going to be on the winning side of the football field."

(On what the term 'game manager' means to him in the quarterback position)

"Giving your team a chance to win at the end of the game, whatever that takes. If that's taking a sack or whether it's throwing the ball away or whether it's checking it down – just giving your team a chance to win the game."

(On the magnitude of a regular season game for a rookie quarterback)

"I'm pretty sure he is going to be prepared. He had a great quarterback coach at Duke with Coach [David] Cutcliffe, so he is prepared for this moment. At the end of the day, we are facing against that defense. I'm focused on that defense. I hope the best for him. I know Eli [Manning] is going to be helping him out. I have tremendous respect for both of those guys, but we've got to focus on their defense. They have a lot of different looks. The good thing is they are very similar to the defense that we have here, so we've just got to be ready for that."

(On one aspect of his game that he feels he needs to improve on)

"For me, every week it's just footwork. I'm just trying to hone in on my footwork [and] be decisive with the football every single week. I know if I do that, and if I have great rhythm with the receivers and tight ends and can be decisive with my decisions, we are going to be hard to beat."

(On if it is hard to get used to not playing a majority of the snaps from the spread)

"No, sir. I had a great experience with that in college and we've done that for the past four years. One big thing about that is establishing the line of scrimmage. Any time we can play on their side of the football field and dominate the run game, it helps everything open up."

(On if Head Coach Bruce Arians' advice to keep his head up while he scrambles has impacted his ability to pick up yards rushing the ball)

"Again, I think it is decisiveness. I've had some offensive lineman tell me, 'Hey man, you are a good scrambler, but sometimes just run.' I know a lot of fans tell me that too, but they don't know how the ebb-and-flow of the game works. Every now and then I try to help them out, especially when I know they are bringing specific pressures or it's man coverage and I know that, 'Hey, I can get out right now.' I am always willing – we have too good of receivers and too good of guys that know how to get open. When coverage breaks down, 70 percent of the time we are going to get open, so if I can maneuver somebody and get the ball down field it's going to be a big play for us. There is a happy medium between that. There is kind of an art to scrambling, so we work on that. When it is a big play, it's a big play but I've just got to make sure I am cautious with the football because [you can] get tackled from behind or something like that. If it's a big play, we are happy."

(On if that decision-making process in the pocket has gotten easier as he has become more familiar with the offense)

"Definitely, based on different concepts and different plays that we may have. It's just a feel. But learning this offense, getting more experience and getting a live four quarters in this offense has definitely been crucial. Out here in practice, this is where it really matters. We've just got to try to push at it and push the tempo and try to get as many reps as possible. I'll tell you, we get a lot of reps here, so it's definitely helping me in the development of this offense."

(On how he can ensure the team practices and works just as hard after a win as they did after a loss)

"Just tempo, and we've got to love it. We love winning, and we've got to love winning so much that we want to continue to feel that feeling. Winning can become contagious. That is just the tempo and that is just the urgency that we have to have. That is winning football – that is having great tempo, that is having great execution, that is having great urgency and wanting to be out there loving this game."

(On the morale in the building after a win)

"Every single week we want to win. Obviously going into a week with a win is better for the team morale. At the end of the day, that's our whole goal in this organization. It makes [medias'] jobs easier when we come in here with a win. It's good for everybody and that is what we enjoy."

(On facing a similar defense to the Buccaneers defense that he faces in practice)

"The good thing is we practice against it. All through training camp, we [saw] a lot of it. They do a lot of unique things on third downs where they give different looks. The good thing about us is if you play us man [coverage], you've got to be really good outside. We've got some great players. We've got to win those one-on-one matchups. You saw that last game – we've got to win those one-on-one matchups. If a team wants to play us man, I know I have to be on top of everything. That is all us – that is just routes versus air. That is just us doing our thing. We know we are going to get different looks, we've just got to be prepared. We've got to come in here ready to play."

(On what he discusses with Offensive Consultant Tom Moore on the sidelines during the game)

"We are just looking over the pictures. We are seeing if we are seeing everything right [and] seeing if we are seeing everything clearly. Seeing, 'What do I like? Do I want to go to this route, or do I want to go to that route?' We are just talking football. With a guy with the type of knowledge and the type of experience that he has in this game, it is always good to somebody like that there."

Defensive Lineman Ndamukong Suh

(On going up against New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley)

"Saquon is an elite back – one of the reasons he was a top draft pick. It's going to be a big challenge for us. Week in and week out, we've got to stop the run – that is most important – and then we have to get after the passer."

(On what has allowed Tampa Bay's defense to be successful over the first two weeks of the season)

"I think it really comes down to execution, understanding what we need to do and understanding each and every game plan and executing that. Shaq [Barrett] has done a great job getting after the quarterback, but it's as simple as execution."

(On Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles putting players in position to be successful by playing to their strengths)

"Coach Bowles does a great job of understanding who he has as a front and as a secondary and putting those guys in good positions to make plays. I think you've seen that over the last couple of weeks in our play. It's just our job to continue to execute and continue to prove that. As he has always said, 'If you don't execute, we are going to find somebody that can execute."

(On what he enjoys about playing in Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles' scheme)

"Me being in a 3-4 defense for the majority of my career, then being in one last year and coming to this one – it's definitely an exciting 3-4 and one that I enjoy being in."

Outside Linebacker Shaquil Barrett

(On being named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week)

"It's a huge honor. That's [been] a dream of mine since growing up. I always played the [video] game and created a player on the game, always tried to win the honors and I finally got it in real life, so it's most definitely a dream come true."

(On what allowed for him to have such a successful performance on Thursday night)

"Just coach [Todd Bowles] putting us in the right play calls at the right time [and] the cornerbacks doing a great job of giving me time to get to the quarterback. Then, the guys inside getting double-teams and getting pocket push so the quarterback can't step up – just everything worked perfect and me just beating my guy at the right time. Everything was working perfectly and it just worked out that way three times last game."

(On if he wants to carry his performance to Sunday's game against the Giants)

"I just put it behind me [and] start a whole new week. New film because I've got to do new moves and stuff, because the tackles might be susceptible to something else. I'm going to keep the momentum, but I'm not really worrying about anything for now – I've just got to start all over."

-BUCCANEERS-